A walk to school in National City

It took a tragedy in 2000, 11-year-old Louie Roman killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking home from school, to spur action in National City.

It took years of effort by parents, school districts and the city to transform unsafe conditions. But National City now has sidewalks that jut out at corners to slow traffic and make crossings shorter, and raised medians that serve as safety islands. It has embedded crosswalk lights, blinking lights overhead and signs that show motorists’ speeds.

National City has become a showcase in getting children to school safely – and by foot. While 15 percent of California schoolchildren walk to school, National City’s average is 45 percent.

The city’s 14 schools were built before 1968 on narrow streets and lack wide drop-off zones. Many of the 10,000 students must cross busy arterial streets.

Traffic engineer Stephen Manganiello, hired in 2007, saw mechanical means as a solution and pushed for state grant money. Soon, National City had $432,000. Safer walking routes were plotted and priorities set for other work. Three more grants followed. National City has made $4.3 million in improvements.

The statistics would warm any parent’s heart: 15 students hurt in 41 months before much of the work, just one in 19 months since.